


A Mother Always Knows

by ADyingFlower



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Because I love her story, Dreams, F/M, Ficlet for Adelaide, Ghosts, I know, I've read it three times now, M/M, Missing Persons, Mother-Son Relationship, Past Character Death, Prophetic Dreams, The heavy weight of duty, a little too much, i'M SAD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 13:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1607135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADyingFlower/pseuds/ADyingFlower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The image of him disoriented a couple of time, but the sly grin and piercing eyes never left his. Jack, or not-Jack, stopped waving in and out, like it was deciding it liked this look. Jack was now a she.</p><p>And a very pretty she, considering she looked like a female copy of Jack. Her long white hair was flowing freely around her back, fluttering in the wind, and her blue eyes never left his. She wore an outfit similar to a kimono, but was looped around her shoulders and the Lunanoff crown adorned her head.</p><p>He was staring at the former Moon Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Mother Always Knows

**Author's Note:**

  * For [adelaide_rain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelaide_rain/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Heavy Weight of Duty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/783893) by [adelaide_rain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelaide_rain/pseuds/adelaide_rain). 



> Notes: I winged the Moon Queen’s personality, since I have no idea what’s she like and neither does Jack or Pitch. Zastruga is a chess term used when a player knows they are going to be checkmated, and can give up or play to the bitter defeat. Thank you for letting me write this, I had a lot of fun! (Beware, fanart coming your way)

He was dreaming.

Well, at least he thought he was. Pitch's thought were hazy and muddled and even the landscape around his looked like he was staring through ice, colors blurred in some places while too sharp in other's.

Thoughts from his waking moments slowly filed in his brain. He was talking to Alden, they were arguing weren't they? But what about?

He glanced down. He was wearing black trousers and similar colored tunic. If Amber saw him now she would surely be astounded...

Pitch glanced around, taking in the room he was facing. He stood in a threshold of a nursery, a white crib was the only thing in the room, being rocked by something that wasn't there. A shudder trailed up his spine, not because he was scared but by the ominous feeling in the room.

A familiar laugh rang in his ears. Pitch spun, catching the glimpse of white locks and silk trailing afterwards. _Jack?_

But Jack was gone, someone took him. He might be gone _Just like Seraphina and Karine. You failed to protect them, and now you lost the one thing that was important to you as well._

The thought left Pitch gasping, close to dry heaving as he stared around the too-sharp corner. The laugh resounded again, and this time he raced right after him. Corner's both of them turned, Pitch always so close yet never catching up fast enough. His thoughts were too rushed to use his shadow magic, which usually took a least a little level in concentration.

His legs ached, his lungs burned so much that he was having trouble catching his breath. Pitch would have thought he lost him if it weren't for the few quick sights he caught of him after they turned corners. Blue eyes, a mischievous smirk, a trace of the familiar blur marks of the exposed arms...

It was a test, that he had to race to find Jack and protect him before it was too late, and he was failing. He opened his mouth to call for his courtesan, but an invisible barrier blocked this voice before it made it out of his throat.

Pitch could feel the invisible clock inside of himself tick, warning him that the end was nearing. _Oh, so now you're going to take him back after you driven him off? After you made him so close to tears and embarrassed?_ The voice in his head mocked him, sounding surprisingly like a feminine version of Jack's.

No! Pitch screamed at himself internally. Jack, ...He's my world. I can't imagine a future without him, and I can't lose him, not like Seraphina and Karine! I love him!

He gulped in air, pushing himself harder, he was so close!

_Are you?_

"JACK!" He screeched, throwing himself the last couple of feet to grab the hand that dangled behind him.

They landed hard, tumbling on to the ground. Pitch felt the world turn in to blurs of colors as he landed on his back, Jack next to him. He slowly turned his head, watching as his courtesan smiled, a bright one that was so rare since Kal died.

"You caught me," He whispered, hands pressed against the ground from where he was lying sideways. Pitch felt himself nodding, a smile of it's own growing on his face. It quickly wiped away however, when the tears started streaming down the boy's face.

He hesitated, a hand pausing right before his face. "...Jack?"

Jack kept on crying, curling in to himself. Pitch wrestled with himself for a moment before reaching out a hand to press against his cheek, his thumb sliding under his cheekbone to wipe away the tears. "Please don't cry, talk to me."

The crying stopped, but that wasn't what worried him. Jack was staring up at him with a completive expression, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle he couldn't solve.

_You really do love him, don't you?_

Pitch chose to ignore the voice, but his heart stopped when he looked at the albino.

Jack was mouthing the words along with the one's in his head, a smirk already tugging at his lips.

Jack gathered the pale silk bunched up around his legs, wobbling to his feet. He sent a sly look behind him as he opened the wooden door directly in front of him and entered the room. Which was also really strange considering in the entire race, he didn't see a single door of the courier's except for the nursery.

Pitch struggled to his feet, the world deciding at that very moment to give out. He rushed to the room through the open door, giving a sigh of relief when he spotted Jack kneeling down over someone.

"Jack?" He called, but stopped when the boy turned around.

It wasn't Jack.

The image of him disoriented a couple of time, but the sly grin and piercing eyes never left his. Jack, or not-Jack, stopped waving in and out, like it was deciding it liked this look. Jack was now a _she._

And a very pretty she, considering she looked like a female copy of Jack. Her long white hair was flowing freely around her back, fluttering in the wind, and her blue eyes never left his. She wore an outfit similar to a kimono, but was looped around her shoulders and the Lunanoff crown adorned her head.

He was staring at the former Moon Queen.

"For a man rumored to be the Nightmare King, you truly act nothing like it." She said evenly, propping her head against her hand and honest to lord _pouting._

"Uhh," Pitch fumbled, feeling lost for words, but was relieved from saying anything when the Moon Queen stood up from her crouched position and revealed a sleeping boy.

Jack.

He didn't look anything like him in his dreams. This one was feverish, blankets clutched tightly to him as he shivered. The collar was gone, Pitch realized with a sad look, but the scar was there along with the frost markings. This seemed more real than the rest of his dreams.

The door creaked, and he took in his surroundings. A wooden room, the shadows hanging heavily, and only one small windows. There were other children buried under blankets in the room as well, ranging from chubby-cheeked to almost adults.

"Take it in, for this is where Jack now resides. He escaped with others, and he is waiting for you. He is not mad, if what you ask. You're pretty easy to read after all my years as ruler." She smoothed the invisible creases in her dress, her grin pulled in to what could be a smirk, but the childlike wonder never left her eyes.

He finds himself wondering what kind of person the Moon King was before her death, to be taken by the woman who is much like a child but spirited as her son.

Jack truly is just like her. Mother like son, he muses.

"I wish," She mumbles. "I could have met him, at least once more to say goodbye."

She curls in to herself more, pacing the room until she stood in front of a small window. Pitch wanted to reach out to her, but he forced himself to try and pull on his monarchy face on.

But as much a he tried, the dream stripped him of all pleasantries and left him with his center.

The Moon Queen breathes in, a smile already fixing on her face. An empty smile, too much like the one's Jack has for comfort.

She turns away from the window, walking the few steps toward him, reaching out a hand to Pitch. Her fingers, instead of grazing his cheek, went _right through._

The woman didn't look affected, instead she simply smiled and leaned up, real close to his ear. "Take care of my son for me, treat him well. Better than my husband or children never did, will you?"

Pitch nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The virtual stranger was _so_ like Jack...

"Good," She grinned, Her face was warm and bright as she reached up again and whispered.

"Zastruga, Nightmare King."-

and suddenly she was touching him again _which did not make sense since she wasn't just a couple seconds ago, a loud cracking sound, and he was falling,-_

And then he stopped.

The world was white, and in front of his stood a child. She was only around Seraphina's age, with long brown hair and similar colored eyes. She wore a brown dress, with simple markings along the bottom and wearing a pair of ice skates. In her hands was Jack's staff.

She stared up at him, her eyes wide with fear as she whispered, "I'm scared,"-

_And he was falling again, the sound of breaking ice-_

Only to bolt up in his bed, sweating and panting as the dream filled his mind. He would have doubted and talked to Onyx if it weren't for the pair of Ice skates drawn on the frost on his window.


End file.
